Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was one of the most popular and influential painters of the Spanish Golden Age. He was born in Seville in late December 1617 and baptized on January 1, 1618. He was the youngest of fourteen children born to Gaspar Esteban, a barber-surgeon, and María Pérez Murillo. He adopted his surname from his maternal grandmother, Elvira Murillo. He lost both his parents by the age of ten and was raised by his older sister Ana and her husband Juan Agustín Lagares, who was also a barber. ² He began his artistic training in the workshop of Juan del Castillo, his uncle and godfather, who was a painter of religious subjects. He learned the basics of drawing and painting from him and was influenced by his style. He also studied the works of Francisco de Zurbarán, Jusepe de Ribera and Alonso Cano, who were prominent masters of the Sevillian school of realism. He received a license to travel to America with his family in 1633, but it is not clear if he ever did. He probably started his independent career around that time or shortly after. ² He married Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos in 1645 and had eleven children with her. He lived with his family in a large house in Seville, where he had his studio and workshop. He became a successful and respected painter, receiving commissions from various religious orders, confraternities and private patrons. He specialized in painting scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints, as well as genre scenes depicting everyday life in Seville. He developed a distinctive style that combined realism with idealization, grace with naturalness, and luminosity with warmth. He used soft colors, fluid brushstrokes and atmospheric effects to create harmonious and expressive compositions. He was especially skilled at portraying women and children with tenderness and charm. ² He was also a devout Catholic and a charitable person. He founded the Academy of Painting in Seville in 1660 and served as its president several times. He donated many of his paintings to churches and charitable institutions. He also helped his fellow painters by providing them with advice, materials and financial support. He was friends with Miguel de Mañara, the founder of the Hospital de la Caridad, who was the godfather of two of his children. ² He died on April 3, 1682, at the age of 64, as a result of injuries he suffered from falling off a scaffold while painting The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine for the main altarpiece of the Capuchin church of Cádiz. He was buried in front of his favorite painting, The Descent from the Cross by Pedro de Campaña, in the Seville Cathedral. ² He left behind a legacy of more than 400 paintings that are admired for their beauty, spirituality and humanity. His works can be found in many museums and collections around the world, such as the Prado Museum in Madrid, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He influenced many Spanish and European painters, such as Francisco de Goya, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable. He is regarded as one of the greatest masters of the Spanish Baroque and one of the most beloved artists of all time. ²